Pelican Lake Dispute Drags On

Pelican Lake Dispute Drags On

Thursday, July 20, 2006 at 15:23

 

 

A spokesman for Indian Affairs says he hopes a leadership dispute at the Pelican Lake First Nation can be solved internally.

 

Trevor Sutter says the community is divided right now on who should be in power, which has prompted INAC to place the band under third party management.

 

He explains numerous legal challenges and federal appeals have made it impossible for the department to understand who is in charge.

 

Sutter says INAC would like the band to solve the matter internally.

 

However, if it is unable to do that, Indian Affairs will wait for a decision by the federal court.

 

Meanwhile, the head of the band’s appeals committee says it is Francis Thomas who should be recognized as chief.

 

Ray Dumais says his group overturned the election results of 2004 which saw Peter Bill cling to power.

 

Dumais notes the case has been mired in the courts for years now and he wants INAC to respect the band’s appeals process and respect their decision.